Geelong kids have no fear of Freddy Krueger, according to a Geelong dad turning his home into a Halloween horror land for charity.
Most were too young to fear the fiery fiend from Elm Street, his local incarnation Bill Hartshorne told the Indy.
“All the little kids love getting a photo with me and they want to touch the knives on the gloves and feel my face,” he said.
“But then when I walk up to their mums, they run. It’s all the older people who have seen the movie who won’t come near me.”
The 42-year-old began transforming his backyard and house in 2011 for eldest son Jack.
“He was looking at Halloween stuff and he was really into it because he likes Harry Potter and all,” he said.
But as Bill started to invite more people over to see the creepy displays some suggested he should open it to the public.
“It wasn’t until 2015 we did something a little bit bigger,” he said.
Last year about 1500 people wandered into Bill’s hair-raising maze and displays, raising about $2000 for the Royal Children’s Hospital, Bill said.
“Last year Halloween was manic.”
This year Bill is extending the event to three days beginning next Thursday.
Along with the usual maze and marques, Bill is promising extra projections and more “realistic” jump scares.
“Every year I try to up the ante,” he said.
Eight-month-old Beelzebub and newest addition to the Hartshorne family, Henry, will make his Halloween debut as a little demon.
“But I don’t know how long he’ll manage,” Bill said.
